The United States Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday said it is investigating why a passenger jet was allowed to take off from Reagan Washington National Airport just as President Donald Trump's helicopter, Marine One, was approaching on Tuesday afternoon, in an apparent breach of safety rules adopted after last year's deadly midair collision near the airport.
In January 2025, a collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near Reagan National killed 67 people and led to tighter separation rules and radar-based tracking requirements.
What do we know?
Marine One lifted off from near the White House around 2:33 p.m. local time, headed to Joint Base Andrews ahead of a trip to Los Angeles. Reuters cited a source saying the jet involved was Envoy Air Flight 3742, an American Airlines regional jet bound for Pensacola, Florida, which departed a minute later. A second flight, Republic 4700, was rerouted as a precaution after coming within three miles (about 4.8 kilometers) of the airport.
The jet was climbing above Marine One, so the two were never on a collision course.
